Aviron Bayonnais denied that they had offered Australia fly-half Matt Giteau a four-year contract worth $10m (£6.5m) to play club rugby in France. 'I have not had any contact with this player or his agent,' Francis Salagoity, chairman of the Top 14 club, said. 'What's more we couldn't afford to offer such an amount of money to any player. This whole story is false.'

Sydney's Daily Telegraph said Giteau had met representatives from the French club. The contract would make the Australia fly-half the highest paid player in world rugby, it added. Giteau spearheaded Australia 18-13 win over France last weekend and told local media he would be interested in playing club rugby in France.

'I like your country, I like your way of life, I like your food. My great grandfather was French,' he said. 'At the end of the tour, I'll ask the Australian Rugby Union to allow me to experiment playing in France as the New Zealand Rugby Union did for Dan Carter.'